strictlysupreme Chapter 19: Still too young, haven't learned their lesson yet.
Chapter 19: Still too young, haven't learned their lesson yet.
"Imperial Prison?" Zhou Qianqian had concerns: "Isn't it too obvious to make moves one after another? And if we make a move in the Imperial Prison, the people we have planted there will definitely be exposed."
If killing someone in the imperial prison were easy, why would she and the crown prince have decided to settle it on the street without even thinking?
"If we don't take action, how do you think we should deal with His Majesty's current rage and the Flying Fish Guard Commander's eagerness to redeem himself? Don't you know their ability to fabricate false cases?" Shen Li's voice was calm, but every word was filled with a sense of oppression.
Zhou Qianqian's face turned pale, and she swallowed.
“I think the spies in the imperial prison are not as important as Your Highness,” Shen Li continued. “Your Highness, you cannot hesitate now.”
Zhou Qianqian was indeed a woman of her own mind, but she had never experienced anything major and dared not make a decision. Now that she felt that Shen Li's words made sense, she immediately said, "Okay, I'll listen to my sister. I'll go and order someone to do it."
"Things must be handled cleanly, otherwise not only Your Highness, but also our fathers and elders will likely be implicated," Shen Li instructed again.
Zhou Qianqian had some doubts about Shen Li after learning this morning that the interception of the prison van had failed, but seeing Shen Li's current dedication, most of her doubts disappeared.
After all, Shen Zizai is on the Crown Prince's side, and Shen Li can't possibly disregard her father's life.
"Okay, little sister, just wait for my news." Zhou Qianqian hurriedly left.
After she left, Shen Li's expression gradually relaxed from the tension she had just shown. She stretched and regained her usual calm demeanor.
This future imperial concubine is still too young; she believes everything she's told and has never learned her lesson.
"Where's my food?" Having spent a long time in prison in her previous life, Shen Li's first words were, "Isn't it mealtime yet?"
"Miss, the kitchen is working hard to finish it." Peony ran back.
"It's good that you're back. Go home again later and ask how the master's illness is." Shen Li said, then lowered her voice, "Tell the madam that we must keep the news from him for the next few days, otherwise it will not be good for the master's recovery."
"Miss, I relayed this to you yesterday afternoon when I went back to deliver the medicine. Have you forgotten?" Peony asked, puzzled.
"I'll say it again today," Shen Li instructed.
"Miss, you seem so worried about the master's illness. Shall I accompany you back to see him?"
Shen Li shook her head: "If I answer him, he will definitely ask me about things in the court, and I'm not good at lying. Let's wait a few days."
"Oh, then this servant will go right away."
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Zhao Jing, the commander of the Flying Fish Guard, was over forty years old and had served as commander for twenty years. For the first ten years or so, he was incredibly powerful, overseeing all officials and arresting and interrogating people without even having to report to the emperor. Wherever he went, people were terrified.
In recent years, however, the Flying Fish Guard has gradually fallen out of favor with the emperor. Although he still holds power, he is rarely entrusted with important tasks.
Just because they arrested the wrong person, Gu Chang'an.
Eighteen-year-old Gu Chang'an had already served as a Hanlin Academician by His Majesty's side for three years. He was highly appreciated by His Majesty for his outstanding talent and ability, but in His Majesty's eyes, he was just a young boy who played with words and was arrested on a whim when investigating factional strife.
Unexpectedly, despite all the torture he endured in prison, Gu Chang'an still refused to admit to participating in the factional struggle, but instead raised suspicions that the Duke of Zheng was plotting a rebellion.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Cheng ordered the release of Gu Chang'an and promoted him to the sixth-rank position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to secretly investigate the rebellion of the Duke of Zheng.
Gu Chang'an seized this opportunity to quickly turn his life around. In the same year, the Duke of Zheng was found to have committed treason, which implicated hundreds of officials and was known as the biggest case during the first year of the Chengyuan era.
He later handled several major corruption cases, recovering tens of millions of taels of embezzled funds. Each time, dozens of officials were implicated, with the most serious cases resulting in execution, while the least serious cases resulted in exile or demotion.
Gu Chang'an also benefited from this achievement, and was promoted one after another in three years, from the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to the current Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a third-rank official.
While some rejoiced, others grieved. Gu Chang'an gradually gained prominence, and the Dali Temple's prestige overshadowed that of the Flying Fish Guard. Zhao Jing tried several times to do something big to turn the tide, but he was no match for Gu Chang'an each time.
He had finally been given an important position by the emperor, and he secretly vowed to seize the opportunity and find out who was behind Liu Ling.
He wasn't afraid of offending people; he just wanted to beat Gu Chang'an once and restore the glory of the Flying Fish Guard!
That night, he was assassinated, but luckily he was prepared and called the patrol battalion for help, thus escaping the attack. Even so, he was still scolded by the emperor.
Zhao Jing was seething with anger. Whether he could turn the tables and win against Gu Chang'an depended on this case!
The bigger the commotion, the more he can profit from it.
After leaving the capital, he rode his horse all the way to the Northern Garrison Command, where he abandoned his horse and went inside, intending to conduct the interrogation personally.
"Commander, something terrible has happened!" A commander rushed out of the prison and whispered to Zhao Jing, "Liu Ling is dead."
"What did you say?" Zhao Jing wondered if he was hallucinating.
"He was poisoned." The commander's face turned pale. "He just died."
"How is this possible?" Zhao Jing's eyes widened in disbelief. He pushed past the commander and strode into the prison.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
The Gu residence.
When Gu Chang'an returned home, Shen Li was eating snacks. She casually placed a package of oil paper on the table and said, "A new chef has joined Zuixianlou. His drunken duck is exceptional. I brought it back for you since I was passing by. Try it."
"What brings you back?" Shen Li asked, somewhat surprised. "Don't you have any official business to attend to?"
"There's nothing urgent today, I just came back to see you, I'll go to the yamen later." Gu Chang'an looked at her with concern: "I didn't come last night, did you sleep well?"
"And you're the one who didn't sleep all night," Shen Li said. "Take advantage of this free time and go get some sleep."
Gu Chang'an smiled enigmatically: "An old friend is coming to visit later, so I guess I won't have time to sleep."
"Oh? You acted quickly." Shen Li immediately understood.
Zhou Qianqian is indeed a decisive person, but from her perspective, this is the best solution.
If Liu Ling falls into the hands of the long-neglected Flying Fish Guards, they'll probably find out everything he did in his past life. If they don't take action, they're just waiting to die.
But even if you take action, things might not turn out well.
"Ah Li is incredibly insightful." Gu Chang'an leaned closer to her and said, "Last night's operation was indeed carried out by a group of assassins, making it impossible to trace them."
“He must have thought that sending assassins would protect him from being implicated.” Shen Li said calmly, “Little did he know that sometimes the dead are more useful than the living.”
Gu Chang'an began to feel sorry for Li Heng. How did he offend their Ah Li? Ah Li is so intelligent that if she really used her schemes, no one could defend against her.
"My lord, Commander Zhao has urgent business to discuss with us," Chunsheng said from outside the door.
Shen Li and Gu Chang'an exchanged a glance, their understanding unspoken.
"Remember to eat it while it's hot." Gu Chang'an pointed to the drunken duck.
"Okay, come back early when you're done. I'll be waiting for you." Shen Li looked at him with exceptional tenderness.